Business news from Ukraine

Ukraine’s Acting Minister of Finance Oksana Markarova during her visit to Britain has signed a multilateral convention to implement tax treaty related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (Multilateral Instrument or MLI), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on its website. According to the report, Ukraine became the 83rd jurisdiction that joined the MLI convention.
“The implementation of the BEPS action plan will favor the harmonization of international rules with more than 70 countries and create a more transparent environment. By signing the MLI convention, we will be able to make the necessary changes to the existing international treaties on double taxation between Ukraine and other states,” Markarova said.
According to the ministry, now the MLI multilateral convention must be ratified by the parliament.
The ministry noted Ukraine had joined the enhanced cooperation program under the OECD initiative on January 1, 2017. The OECD member countries have developed an action plan to combat tax base erosion and profit shifting. The BEPS plan includes 15 steps in various areas of counteraction to aggressive tax planning.

The international marketplace for finding private tutors Preply has pulled in $4 million in the seed round. Lead investor was Point Nine Capital, Berlin-based venture fund, investing in SaaS and marketplaces at early stages. “Investors in Preply’s seed round include Arthur Kosten (ex-CMO at Booking.com, 2003-2012), Polish VC RTAventures, founder & CEO of DocPlanner Mariusz Gralewski, Poland’s Grupa Pracuj EO Przemyslaw Gacek, Diligent Capital Partners (Ukraine) and SMRK (Ukraine),” Preply reported.
“Next year we plan to become the leading marketplace for finding private tutors of foreign languages in the world,” co-founder and CEO of Preply Kirill Bigai said.
Managing Partner of Point Nine Capital Pawel Chudzinski, in turn, said that the fund took this opportunity to enter the fragmented online tutoring market, evaluating the focus on consumer experience and global proof of the concept, and will contribute to the efforts of the Preply team to win leadership on it. The new round of financing will support the long-term development of new products, including the Preply calendar, instant booking options, and the launch of a mobile application.
In addition, the funding allowed Preply to open a second office in Berlin and build up a team of senior professionals working on the product: managers, designers and developers. In the near future the startup plans to search and appoint VP of Marketing.
The company was founded in 2012 by Bigai, Sergey Lukyanov (Head of Product Design) and Dmytro Voloshyn (CTO) with offices in Kyiv and Berlin.

The Canadian defense sector is working on plans to develop defense cooperation with Ukraine, Conservative MP from Canada James Bezan has said in an interview with UATV. Bezan said that soon supplies of Canadian small arms could be started to Ukraine.
“Canada and Ukraine have signed one contract to supply sniper rifles. We are waiting for the signing of the permit to export the arms by the Canadian government,” he said. Bezan did not specify the participants and details of the mentioned arms contract, saying only that the forthcoming delivery of Canadian small arms to Ukraine is planned to be provided on a commercial basis within the special export license issued by the Canadian government.
According to the Canadian politician, the prospects for working in the defense market of Ukraine are currently being studied by a number of Canadian defense companies. “I know that there are other manufacturers who produce machine guns, light armored vehicles and other equipment, and study the potential of work with Ukrainian companies, Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Bezan said, recalling that for the time being there are no legislative restrictions in Canada on the supply of certain types of weapons to Ukraine.
As reported, in December 2017, the government of Canada amended the rules of arms exports, allowing the sale of small arms to Ukraine.

Public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia has announced that China Eximbank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China are ready to invest in the development of Ukrainian railway infrastructure, increase of its quality and the speed, according to a posting on the website of Ukrzaliznytsia after the discussion of issues of developing high-speed railway traffic and the upgrade of Ukrzaliznytsia’s rolling stock jointly with representatives of Chinese banks and railway companies in Kyiv. Ukrzaliznytsia reported that representatives of Chinese railway companies expressed their desire to find a successful economic model for promoting high-speed traffic in Ukraine.
“China’s Eximbank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will be willing to invest in the development of Ukraine’s railway infrastructure, improving the quality of its use and speed,” Ukrzaliznytsia said. Welcoming colleagues from China, acting Board Chairman Yevhen Kravtsov said that their readiness for dialogue testifies to the seriousness of their intentions.
“The construction of a high-speed railway line was discussed at the level of the ministry, and today we see the construction of this line as a national project. I see a great potential in it, but Ukrzaliznytsia’s own funds are not sufficient for its implementation,” Kravtsov said.
He said that Kovel, Lviv and Mukachevo are promising points for connecting them with European narrow gauge track, and this is a realistic project for Ukrzaliznytsia in the coming years. Kravtsov also invited Chinese companies to participate in the tender for the electrification of the Dolynska-Mykolaiv-Kolosivka line.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Chinese companies: China Road And Bridge Corporation, China Railway Construction Corporation International Limited, China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group, China Railway Engineering Co., Ltd., China Railway International Group and China Railway Limited Group.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK), a large global supplier of consulting and engineering services, has announced that that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the company an $85 million contract to support enhanced energy security in Ukraine. “Tetra Tech will provide technical services to support private sector-led energy investments, increased renewable energy generation, and reliable and affordable energy for all Ukrainians,” the U.S. company said.
The company said that specific tasks include developing energy market models to create competitive energy market reforms, completing renewable energy pre-feasibility assessments, and developing creative financial incentive mechanisms to facilitate private sector investment in renewable energy.
Tetra Tech also will collaborate with local organizations in implementing the program to develop Ukraine’s institutional capacity, encourage ownership of results, and ensure sustainability of reforms. The company reminded that the five-year USAID/Ukraine Energy Security through Competitive Energy Markets Program aims to improve the legal and regulatory environment in the energy sector and increase the resilience of energy supplies in Ukraine.

Hutchison Ports (the parent holding is CK Hutchison Holdings) has registered subsidiary Hutchison Ports Ukraine (Odesa) for work in Ukraine. According to the single state register of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and public associations, the charter capital of Hutchison Ports Ukraine is UAH 700,000, of which UAH 7,000 were contributed by Hutchison Ports Netherlander, UAH 693,000 by Hutchison Ports Turkey.
The company will deal with the transport processing of goods (the core business), as well as provide auxiliary services for water transport and carry out other supporting activities in the field of transport. Yevhenia Chirikova has been appointed head of the company since July 18, 2018. The company was registered on July 18 of this year.
As reported, in December 2017 the Infrastructure Ministry commission approved the application of Hutchison Ports to rent the territory of Chornomorsk port (Odesa region) in the area of berths Nos. 1-6.

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